Chairs
by Angel Reaper
Summary: WARNING- mild manga spoilers for the ending. For Seras, Alucard's chair brings up memories of her father... fatherly AxS one-shot.


Disclaimer: I don't own Hellsing or any characters, they all belong to Kouta Hirano. I don't make any money by writing this, it's purely for fun.

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It was lonely now that Alucard had disappeared. Feeling unusually forlorn and nostalgic one particular day, Seras decided to visit her master's old room. Intergra had ordered it sealed and barricaded ever since the attack on London, but it was easy for Seras to walk through the walls into the space beyond. Everything was as Alucard had left it; a bare room almost devoid of furniture except for his coffin, a table with two empty wineglasses and an unusually high-backed chair.

Seras stared fixedly at the sole throne-like chair in Alucard's room for a moment. For some reason, it vaguely reminded her of her father's favorite couch, a barcalounger from his days as a bachelor. After a long day of police work, her father would love to recline in it and watch the evening news or other television programs. On his days off, he would read the newspaper or a good book in that seat. Some of Seras' fondest memories of her father were of her as a young girl curled up on her father's lap as she watched television with him, or trying to read the newspaper with him.

When her father was at work, Seras would sit on the barcalounger herself, childishly small in the huge space. It was somewhat worn and lumpy from years of use and abuse, but it always smelled of her father and the cool aftershave he used.

Perhaps that's why the strange chair reminded her of the barcalounger; Alucard's scent still lingered around it. He always smelled like gunpowder, old blood and spices, a strange but pleasing mix. She tentatively placed a hand on an arm of the chair, feeling the smooth leather that covered the surface. Even more gingerly, she lowered herself into the seat, pulling her knees up to her chest as she sat down. She rested her head back on the unyielding wood behind her, closed her eyes and inhaled deeply. The experience wasn't quite the same as when she was a child sitting in her father's couch, but it was familiar enough to comfort her and make her feel safe. "Master…"

And so over the years, whenever Seras felt a pang of loneliness or missed Alucard, she would go sit in his chair, reflect silently on her master, and inhale his scent; it never seemed to fade no matter how long she sat in the seat. Some trips would only take minutes, and others would take hours; a few times she had ended up falling asleep for the day there. But Seras always left feeling calmer and better than when she started.

On this particular trip, Seras felt weary from a small spike in missions recently. Curled in the fetal position, she could feel herself begin to nod off. The seat was quite comfortable and inviting, and she gave in to the impulse to sleep. After all, her master wasn't there to scold her for borrowing his property…

As Seras slept, she didn't see the lid of Alucard's coffin open slowly, and a writhing mass of shadows pooled out. The darkness struggled for a moment, before slowly fading away to reveal Alucard himself, still dressed in his trademark clothing.

For a moment he stood stock-still, taking in his surroundings. Then he cautiously brought a hand up and flexed his fingers. It was a strange feeling, having a normal body again instead of being everywhere and nowhere. Well, as "normal" of a body as he could possibly have anyway…

His ears picked up the sound of soft breathing in the room. Curious about who else was in the room, he followed the noise until he halted right in front of his seat. He smirked at the sight of Seras asleep in his chair. He knelt down to inspect her closely; she hadn't changed much in the time he had been gone. She looked quite content and peaceful while sleeping, and he silently wondered if he should wake her up and tell her to bugger off. As he was about to open his mouth, he sniffed the air around; it seemed like she had spent some time here in his chambers while he had been gone. He sighed, and decided to let her be. No sense in waking her up just yet…

Alucard decided to go off and find Integra; he could just imagine her look of shock from his return. Before he left though, he couldn't resist stroking the Police Girl's blonde hair for a moment, and pressed a gentle kiss to her forehead. "Sleep well, Seras Victoria," he murmured against her skin.

Deep in sleep, Seras sighed dreamily at the brief contact. She didn't awaken until Integra fired several shots moments later, and hurried off to make sure the Hellsing director was alright. Seras never wondered why her forehead tingled slightly.

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A/N: A short piece brought about by college finals; I always seem to procrastinate by writing fanfiction. When finals are over, I might try to write more if I'm inspired. Anyway, this is more fatherly AxS than romantic AxS, but it felt awkward to try and force the story idea to be romantic. As always, reviews and criticisms are welcome.


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